An unseasonably warm March
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Under the influence of a dry northeast monsoon and the subsequent easterly airstream, the weather of Hong Kong was generally fine and dry on the first 11 days of the month. It was cool on the morning of March 1 with the temperature at the Observatory falling to a minimum of 16.4 degrees, the lowest of the month. It was also very dry during the day on March 5 and 6. With the moderation of the easterly airstream, there were sunny intervals and a few light rain patches during the day on March 12. Under light wind conditions, the visibility over parts of the territory was relatively low at first on that day.
Meanwhile, a weak cold front moved across the coast of Guangdong on the evening of March 12 and brought slightly cooler and cloudier weather to Hong Kong in the next two days. There were also a few light rain patches at first on March 13. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, apart from a few light rain patches on the morning of March 17, it was warm with sunny periods during the day in Hong Kong on March 15 to 18. The visibility was also relatively low at first on March 18.
With a band of clouds covering the coast of Guangdong, local weather turned mainly cloudy with a few rain patches on March 19 to 21. Under the influence of a southerly airstream, the weather remained cloudy with a few showers on March 22 and 23. With sunny periods during the day, it was hot on March 24. The temperature at the Observatory rose to a maximum of 29.0 degrees in that afternoon, the highest of the month.
Meanwhile, a trough of low pressure over inland Guangdong developed into a cold front and moved across the coast of Guangdong on the morning of March 25. A band of intense thundery showers associated with the cold front affected Hong Kong on that day. More than 30 millimetres of rainfall were generally recorded over the territory and rainfall even exceeded 50 millimetres over parts of the urban areas and the New Territories. Hail was also reported in the vicinity of Sai Wan Ho during the passage of the thunderstorms in that afternoon. Under the influence of a strong northeast monsoon and the subsequent upper-air disturbances, it was cooler and mainly cloudy with a few showers till the end of the month. There were also a few isolated thunderstorms on March 27. The visibility was rather low over parts of the territory on March 30 and 31.
There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in March 2023.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for March are tabulated in Table 2.
Ends/Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:00
Issued at HKT 15:00
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